The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-08-26
A CALIFORNIA ROMANCE.
Trials and Vicissitudss Of . Female
Nissr's Daughter,

The neighborhood Of White Rock
Springs, Call, is excited over the. dis
covery Of fortune hidden in chimney
by miserly old woman of. that place.
The discovery forms the last chapter in
curious tale of the vicissitudes OF for
tune on the coast.
Mrs. Dart. early in the sos, lived
in Ell Dorado County. and had a
pretty daughter named Lou, a
girl of 16. The mother was well
off, and when her daughter fell in love
with saloon-keeper, Austin Keely, she
violently objected to the match. The
lovers were married, however, and
moved to San Francisco, where Kelly
made lucky strike in mining stocks,
clearing up over 500, 900. He was not
satisfied. but wanted to be million
aire, and in the effort lost every cent.
Then he fell to drinking, liquor made
him demented, and he was finally sent
to the insane asylum. His wife went to
liveswith her mother in her Ell Dorado
home.
After a few months Kelly was dis
charged cured, and he went to
live with his mother-in-law. She
ant that his insanity returned, and
one day in a fit of rage he cooked her to
death. There was great popular ex-
element over the crime, but when the
trial came Kelly was acquitted on the
ground of insanity. The excitement of
the trial, however, reduced Kelly almost
to imbeciiity, and it was found he could
not even manage the farm which old
Mrs. Dart left to her daughter. Though
search had been made of the premises
for hidden treasures, as it was known
the old woman had saved much money,
nothing was ever found.
Mrs. Kelley then moved to Sac
ramento and rented the farm,
but the tenants so neglected the
place that a few weeks ago she deter
mined to move out to it. She borrowed
some money to repair the building
and make it inhabitable. To do this it
was found necessary to tear down the
chimney attached TO the house. ALI
hopes of finding the fortune, which
everybody was sure had been left by the
old lady, had been abandoned, when the
fall of the chimney revealed strong
box containing $28 900 in gold coin.
Thus for the second time in life Mrs.
Kelly found herself in comparative
luxury. The surprise was the more
agreeable since the welcome acquisition
will bring relief from the poverty which
for years has been her lot. Poor Austin
hardly retains sense enough to appre-
ciate his good fortune. Everybody
about White Rock Springs rejolces in
the good luck OF plucky Mrs. Keely.
1t is related as a prelude to this
strange story that the old Hrs. Dart,
to whose money getting skill and
misery proclivities the Keelys owe
their release from proverty, had a TO
mantle career herself. She married a
ine-looking man of apparent means in
New Orleans. but her marital happiness
was of short duration, for she soon dis
covered that her husband was profess
sionsl gambler, and she abandoned
him. She came to California, and
placed little Lou in New Orleans con-
vent. Mrs. Dart located at White Rock
Spring, and lived and died there. Her
husband, likewise, followed fortune
with the setting sun, but, although he
lived ID Sacramento for many years, he
never spoke again to his wife. His
name was Henry Dart.